The Angel of Hell
by Pinky Sprinkles
Summary: Secrets are kept, and lives disappear. What will happen when Angel lets go? CH 16, the final chapter, is up! Dun Dun DUN! What will happen!
1. The Story of Hannah

Ch.1

The Story of Hannah

Darkness filled the clean, scented air, into a dark, murky, forgotten city. So much black, it could make a blind man see again. Flashes of light were found soon after the darkness swept in. It wasn't a city anymore. Instead, it had become Hell itself. Fire raged, nothing getting in its way. The flames burned through people's souls, stealing their eyes, melting them with their warm, sharp hands. Their lips were peeled, like tissue paper, with a single touch. Their hearts, holding their lives together with a single beat, were burned. The last the flames took was their memories. Their memories had been held in their toes, the most unlikely place. It would be the last thing the people would hear, touch, and smell, for death was closer than they thought. Their lives had gone, never to be seen on the face of the Earth again.

Few survived. One of the twenty-seven survivors was a young mother, looking for her lost baby girl. "Hannah!" The mother's head hung low, feet, dragging on. Lifeless. She stopped at a pile of bricks and wood, which at one point was their apartment. In the rubble lay a dangling arm, pale and still. The mother dug and dug, flinging dirt and dust clouds behind her. Her heart paced. 'It isn't Hannah... it isn't Hannah... it... isn't...' She stopped digging. Lying before her was Molly, Hannah's beautiful hand crafted doll. Her purple summer dress, ripped. Her long black hair, torn in spots. And her face, crumpled together like a plastic bag.

It too had become dead.

Hannah's mother cried, leaving trails of tears along her muddy face. She hugged Molly like she would if Hannah were with her.

"I love you Hannah, my baby girl."

She kissed Molly on the head, tucked into her arms, and laid upon the rubble beneath her. She closed her eyes, never to open them again. She was heartbroken.

Before the attack of the underworld, Hannah had been playing tea party with Molly. Hannah's worn out pink summer dress hung from her shoulders down to her knees. Her bright blue eyes sparkled with youth and her long brown hair brought caring joy around her.

Paper plates, cups, and napkins scattered along the hard wood floor. Hannah's mother insisted her to play outside with the neighbor's dog.

"No mother, the wood is cold on my back. The dog is inside anyway."

Her mother giggled at Hannah, speaking like an adult.

Screams echoed the ally separating the two apartment complex's, piercing the passer-by's ears. Hannah's mother slipped on her sandals, getting ready to walk outside. Hannah, watching what her mother was doing, stood up and ran toward her mother's legs. She clenched them with sweaty palms, looking up at her. Hannah's mother looked down into her petrified eyes.

"I'm only going out to see what the fuss is about," Hannah's mother said calmly.

Hannah stood, in tears."Don't leave me here!"

"I won't Hannah, I promise."

Hannah gave her mother a hug, squeezing every last bit of her.

"Okay...okay...Hannah...you need...to ...let go ...now!"

Hannah let go, giggling at her mother gasping for air, her face, a deep crimson red.

Her mother kissed her on the head and left. Hannah was alone. Her only comfort was the purple juice stained couch, the batted up coffee table, and her doll Molly.

Molly had been sitting on the floor, holding an empty tea cup in her stuffed hand. Holding her hand out for so long, caused her to loose her balance, and fell over.

"Oh Molly," Hannah said with a teasing voice. Hannah walked over to her, picked her up and patted her head lightly.

Hannah's mother had looked around at all the apartment complex's down the road, and didn't see anything wrong with them, until her next door neighbor came out in a panic.

"Danelle! We must hurry! The storm is coming this way!"

"Rachel, what are you talking about? Nothing is wrong."

"They've gotten to your soul too, haven't they? We must get you to a doctor!"

Rachel grabbed Danelle's arm and pulled her with little difficulty.

"Hannah! I must get my Hannah!" Danelle exclaimed.

"There is no time! She'll be alright. She's a smart girl."

Rachel pulled harder, and Danelle being so light, was carried away, unable to stop.

"HANNAH!"

"Mother?" Hannah turned, thinking she heard her mother yell for her.

"Okay Molly, you'll have to follow me in order to live." Molly sat on the floor, staring at Hannah.

"Don't give me any of that talk, alright!" Hannah picked her up by her foot and ran to the kitchen. Hannah opened a cupboard full of pots and pans, but grabbed a strainer. Next, she went to a drawer and found a spoon.

"This will be your weapon, since your head is too small to fit into a helmet." Hannah crashed the "helmet" on her head, making a vibrating sound on her head. She stood there in pain, but stood higher in bravery.

After a moments pause, and a salute, Hannah took Molly outside to find out what was going on.

It was dark and grim. Nothing with a slight ray of hope lived. Hannah had walked several steps away from the door of her once beloved home, and collapsed to the ground. Sobs choked her throat, tears streaming from her eyes. Her mother had left her promise in the forgotten city.

The fire demons had been standing, (more like floating) watching Hannah suffer. One stepped forward, causing the remains of a standing building to collapse.

"Who's there?" Hannah looked up, tears and dirt smudged her face. The three fire demons had looked into the eyes of the lonely child, wanting her more and more as they looked deeper and deeper. One of them had eventually become so obsessive, they took her by the face, and dragged her off, burning themselves into her. Molly was left in the remains of the building that had recently collapsed, where later, Danelle would find her. Hannah screamed, but nothing had come out of her lungs. Everytime she opened her mouth, the demons would kill something inside her, causing her to want to scream more.

Once they had reached the Palace of Deatherma, the Angel of Hell awaited the fire demons arrival impatiently. "My fateful servants. I hope you've brought a body to my liking, otherwise, you will pay a heavy price," The Angel said.

The demon who had lugged Hannah to the castle, dropped her on the floor, showing her face. Hannah's face had become completely burned off, except for her left blue eye, which still sparkled with youth. The Angel flinched, and stared into the eyes of the demons.

"You all are pathetic! You call this a body! It's disgusting! A princess like me should have the best!"

The Angel held her arm forward, facing the middle demon. Though there was no expression upon their faces, you could tell they were terrified. The Angel clenched her hand into a fist, tighter and tighter. The demons shook uncontrollably, and began to shrink. The Angel's hand bled. Her fingers had become numb until she let go. The demons were nowhere to be found. Hannah lay on the floor... breathing heavily.

A/N: How do ya like it so far? It took me awhile to figure the plot, but it's good, I think. Something to clear up: Hannah can breathe because she held her breath until the fire demon threw her upon the floor. She passed out as soon as that happened. If you have any other questions, just ask!


	2. The Eaten Soul

Ch. 2

The Eaten Soul

Angel had sat in her throne for only a few seconds when she sensed something was wrong. She looked around the room, skipping over the girl that lay on the floor. Angel gave up and walked toward Hannah.

"Now that that's over with , I can..." She stopped a few feet away from Hannah, and noticed her chest, slowly rising, then falling again.

"Impossible!" Angel ran over to Hannah, and kneeled by her side.

"You should've died like the others! No one can live through the pain!"

Hannah looked over at Angel with her left eye. Angel froze, her hair flew up in a tiny gust, and was flattened again. Within the one second they met eyes, Angel seen Hannah's childhood. Angel turned away, feeling the suffering she had forced upon the child.

Hannah closed her eye to preserve the last of her energy. Angel looked back at her limp body. "This life was never to be for you, my dear. It was for me."

As Hannah lay motionless, Angel, opened Hannah's mouth and climbed in.

Hannah's eye shot open. She tried to scream in pain, but nothing would come out. Hannah covered her face with her cold hands. She could feel her skin, forming into a gel. It hardened as soon as her mouth, nose, and ears had reshaped themselves into her normal face. Her hair had grown immensely within the sixty seconds.

Everything had become normal again, except for her right eye. Instead of a beaming blue one, a soft ember eye took it's place. Nothing was out of place.

She sat up, with no pain shooting down her back. After a few moments to catch her breath from excitement, she stood, keeping her balance.

"Well, this will have to do then, won't it?" Angel said with Hannah's voice. She looked down at her feet and saw stubs as legs.

"Why'd I have to be short?"

As Hannah was about to leave the castle, the human servant, Edswigin, opened the huge oak doors.

"Milady, your father has told me to tell you... wait... your not Princess Angel...guar..." Before her could finish his sentence, Edswigin was murdered with magic.

' Poor little Edswigin, always getting in my way.'

Hannah scurried past the oak doors into the great fields of the Earth.

"Now, to find Howl and his family."

Hannah walked for hours and hours, trudging in the swamps and running through the rain. By the time she reached the lands of the Waste, it was time for lunch.

Hannah's feet were sore and tired, and her stomach growled for nourishment. As she plucked a stray blade of grass, gathered up a pile of moss, and squeezed the pulp from a dandelion, she muttered to herself,"I hope this works, I hope this works, I hope this works..."

She placed the things she picked on a small stone. Hannah arched her back and crouched to her knees. As she rose slowly, she lifted her arms in the process. Hannah went back to the beginning stage and repeated the spell three times. Once she was finished, she looked closely at the items laying still on the rock.

"I knew it wouldn't work!" Hannah exclaimed, sitting on the large rock next to it. She gazed at the mountains, fantasizing ponies prancing, princesses being rescued by their princes, unicorns grazing in the fields. Then, everything became a blur. Black erased everything and Hannah was falling, falling, falling. Whispers were all around her. Soft at first, but growing louder as she continued to fall. Everything stopped as Hannah opened her eyes and realized she was dreaming.

She looked next to her and saw a pile of steaming food. Hannah rubbed her eyes to make sure she wasn't dreaming this either. Realizing it was real, she picked up the plate and crammed as much food as she could in her mouth.

Avoiding the mountains as best she could, Hannah kept her eyes on the swaying grass.

A black spot in the middle of the grass was growing bigger and bigger. Hannah looked up and saw a black spot in the cloudless sky getting bigger and bigger.

She scrambled off the rock to get out of the way of the frightening shadow. Screaming her head off while running, Howl arrived, just in time.

A/N: This chapter wasn't as bad as the first one was it? I hope so. To clear something up: When Angel's hair flew up in a tiny gust, watch Spirited Away when Chihiro is receiving the money from the "stink spirit". If you have any questions, just ask. I'm not a teacher that will rip your throat out when you ask a "stupid question". (i hate it when they do that, ya know?)


	3. More Magic

Ch. 3 More Magic

Awe had replaced Hannah's screams of terror. She gazed upward, toward the top of the castle. There, on either side of it was a pair of wings. ' So that's why I couldn't find them,' Hannah muttered to herself. She stood up, setting aside her half eaten breakfast. Hannah walked toward the door, heart skipping a beat every-time she stepped. 'What am I here for again?'

Angel had erased herself from existence, only to have a few traces of human flesh to bring herself back to her world. Hannah had become her mind and body, and slowly, she was becoming her soul.

Hannah had reached the door. A beautiful carving masked itself in decaying darkness. The old paint had been cracked and crumbled, causing the masterpiece to leave trails of its skin, wherever the castle went.

Hannah touched the design, moving her finger along the ridges where the black bubbles formed. Scared of them, she "jumped" her finger over them and started a clean new line, erasing the dust along the way. "Wash away those tears of yours, my pretty door." Once she was finished with her joyful cleaning, she searched for an elegant door handle. Instead of a door handle, there was a hole, about the size of Hannah's thumb. "Where is it?" Trying to peep through the hole had become useless, for it was too dark.

Hannah became curious and bored. She stuck her thumb inside the hole.

She heard a crack, then a click. Panicking, she tried to yank her thumb out, only to pop it in the process.

"Owww... that hurt..." Tears slowly streamed down her face.

"Tell me child, what is your name?"

"Who said that!" Hannah's tears stopped immediately.

"It is I, the carving in which you have your finger stuck in," the door said.

Hannah looked at the door, gazing into a human like face.

"My child, what is wrong? You have raindrops in your eyes. Tell me, what is your name?"

She froze. "My name?"

"Yes, your name."

"Why must you have my name?"

"Well, unless you enjoy having your thumb stuck in my ear, and would like to keep me company, I need your name."

Hannah stuttered, "Hhhh... aannnnnnnaa...hhh..."

"Hannah, is it?"

Hannah shook her head yes.

"I'm sorry, but I have a problem with that answer. You see, I'm not a normal talking door. My master has put a spell upon me. That spell would be, not letting anyone in unless he, himself, knows them. My master has also put a spell on me to reveal the impostor's inside truths."

Raising an eyebrow, he gave Hannah a glare.

"Come now, _Angel._" A smirk laid across his face, tearing into her soul. Hannah's heart sank, Angel's eyes glowed, and the door had become motionless. Sinking back to it's original pattern, it let go of Hannah's thumb.

Her eyes were opened wide, her face stone cold. Her thumb had become numb and purple. The sound of her heart racing, brought her thumb to her face, comforting it like she would with Molly. A tear trickled down her cheek, burning her face as it went.

A/N: PLEASE review! Do you like it or not! I can't hear you through the computer screen! Okay, things to clear up; Angel's eyes glowed in Hannah's body because she wasn't believing that she was Hannah anymore. That she was Angel (herself). Get it? I still hate those "stupid questions" teachers. That's it for now!


	4. What's Behind the Door

Ch. 4

What's Beyond the Door

As the tear of Hannah continued down her face, the door opened, only to reveal blackness inside. Hannah looked down to cover her fears and found an ant, crawling on the cement toward the door.

'Well if he isn't scared, neither should I.'

She took one step, being careful not to step on it, and bumped into the master.

Hannah looked up and found herself staring into the calm blue eyes of Master Howl.

"My, don't you look exhausted. Come inside, Sophie will take care of you."

Hannah looked at him, mouth slightly open and eyes watering from dryness.

"What's the matter?" He looked at her with the same look she gave him (except the open mouth part). They stayed that way until Howl chuckled at the little Hannah. Hannah gave him a stern look and began to sob. Recovering from his rising laughter, Howl looked at her again.

"I'm sorry. Here, go inside. You won't see mean old Howl for awhile, okay," Howl said in a baby voice. Hannah rubbed her eyes as she walked into the doorway. The door slammed behind her, causing her to loose her balance. Hannah slowly got up and brushed off her knees only to find it stinging. She looked down and saw dry blood all over her knees. Ignoring them, she climbed up the stairs slowly, so if any one was home, she wouldn't disturb them. She looked over the handrail on the right, and found a burning fire in a brick fireplace, along with a pile of books stacked on a stand next to a dark green armchair. "How lovely" Hannah said in a whisper.

On the left side and only found a light blue couch and love seat sitting on top of a dark blue stained carpet and a frail coffee table separating them. "It's okay I guess." Hannah faced forward, getting ready to climb the rest of the stairs.

BANG!

A door slammed upstairs and frightened Hannah, causing her to run over to the green armchair and cling to the loose fabric behind it.

She could hear small footsteps trotting down the stairs. They stopped once they reached the slippery bottom. "Owww!" The person who had been walking, slipped on the newly polished floor. "Sophie! You need to tell me when you wax the floors!" Looking over the armchair at the boy, Hannah giggled slightly.

"Whose there!" the young Markl said. Calcifer, the blazing fire, pointed over toward the armchair. Markl received Calcifer's message, not realizing he was grabbing Heim's bone that lay on the floor. He pointed the bone at the armchair heroically as he said,"Come out or else.." Hannah, unable to resist, giggled and stepped out saying,"What, you'll force me to roll over and beg!"

Markl looked at Hannah in question and looked at his "ferocious" weapon. He flushed a bright pink.

"What... what are you talking about young maden? This... this, bone... is the best weapon any warrior could have!"

"Then tell me sir, what shall I have to protect myself from evil?" Hannah said, going along with Markl's imagination. Markl looked around and found a dusty, old candlestick.

"This m'lady, is the next best thing."

Hannah giggled and threw the candle at Markl, knocking him in the head. He fell to the ground stiff. "Oh no!" Hannah exclaimed. She ran over to the young boy and kneeled by his side, holding his hand to her face..

"As in all the fairytales, one must awaken the dead with a ..." Hannah looked at Markl breathing heavily," You know the rest... a kiss?" Markl woke up from the dead miraculously. "Look at this! I'm alive!" Markl and Hannah laughed and laughed. Calcifer sat watching them the whole time, wondering why Howl let her in.

Once they were passed out on the floor from exhaustion, Markl had the idea of showing Hannah the castle. They got up and walked and talked," My name's Markl by the way."

"What kind of name is Markl!"

"Well, what kind of name is.. what is your name?"

"Hannah"

"Well, what kind of name is Hannah!"

"Hannah was my Great grandmother's name. My mother told me she was the most beautiful woman when she was younger.

"Well, Markl is one of the greatist magicians in this castle!"

"Would you be so kind as to show me a magic trick, magician Markl?"

By then, they circled the whole house and ended up back at the stairs. Hannah sat down where Markl tripped previously, and Markl stood on the second step.

"My young Hannah! Be amazed as I, Markl, show you the best magic tricks for all ages!" Hannah sat on the bottom of the staircase giggling while Markl pulled out a stuffed bunny from his hat, received a penny from his ear, and yanked two pigeons and a deck of cards from his sleeve.

"Now for this trick, I need a volunteer." He looked at Hannah's smile and said, "Thank you, my lovely assistant! Could you step inside this box beside me and.."

"There is no box."

"No box? Ohh.. close your eyes and it will magically appear." Hannah closed her eyes and Markl ran to the kitchen to receive the tall box. "Now open your eyes."

Hannah opened them and walked inside. "Now don't worry, I won't hurt you."

"What do you mean you won't hurt me!" Markl closed the door to the box before Hannah could finish her sentence.

Sophie opened the door, her hands full of groceries. "Markl, could you... give me.. a hand!" Markl clapped his hands while hurriedly reached for the saw on top of the box. "Very funny." Sophie put the groceries on the coffee table and looked at Markl suspiciously. "Who's the victim now? A toad, a turtle?" "A girl!" Markl said excitedly.

"A GIRL!" Sophie ran to the box, opening the door so fast, it was about to tip over. She looked in, finding Hannah smiling up at Sophie. Sophie grabbed Hannah's hand, and yanked her out of the death trap.

"Markl! You do NOT take girls off the streets and cut them in two!"

"But she came in!"

Markl dropped the saw. Hannah turned a shade of green and almost tipped over.

"I won't have any of that nonsense!" Sophie said, a little calmer, "Now... little girl, where did you come from?"

Hannah dazed off, looking at the lampshade behind her.

"Little girl?"

"Her name's Hannah!" Markl screamed. Sophie glared at Markl, then looked back at Hannah.

"Hannah?"

Hannah still stood, now gazing at the bug on the lampshade.

"Hannah! Yoo Hoo!" Markl said, waving his hands in front of her face. She didn't blink, but instead replied," I... don't... know..."

The bug flew onto the lighted lightbulb, slowly roasting itself until it collapsed on the table dead. As soon as it landed, Hannah awoke from her trance, shaking the dizziness off of her.

Sophie and Markl gaped at her, then at eachother. Hannah gave them an innocent grin.

"Let's get you cleaned up," Sophie said, stooping to Hannah's level. Hannah looked down at her knees and remembered the pain flooding through them.

Sophie put her on the dinning room table while she scurried around the house looking for rubbing alcohol and bandages.

"Where's Heim and the Witch of the Waste, Sophie?"

"I left them at the town square to do some shopping for themselves. Do you know how hard it is to shop with them?"

"How nice. You leave them all alone out there with no hopes of coming back."

"Don't worry Markl! I've sent Howl to pick them up."

"So that explains why he was in a hurry"

"Do you mean there's more of you!" Hannah asked, surprised.

"Umm hmm." Sophie said, holding the "cleaning cuts" in her hands.

"Wow... I can't believe you just figured that out." Markl said amazed," Sophie, when are you going to get married?"

"Soon Markl, very soon"

"I know who I'm going to marry!" (Hannah says this)

"Who?" Markl and Sophie say in unison.

"Master Howl!"

Markl laughed and fell to the ground, rolling on his back.

Sophie giggled and held up her left hand," Already taken."

"Alrighty then, I'll choose... Markl to be my husband."

Markl stopped laughing and stood up glaring at her," What!"

"Unless there's another man in the house, you'll have to do."

"Not me! You can have Heim!"

At the same moment Sophie finished bandaging Hannah's knees, Howl, Heim, and the Witch of the Waste stepped through the door.

A/N: Thanks for the review whoever the meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.. person is. This one is more cheerful than the other ones, so I hope you like it! If you have any questions, just ask!


	5. Master Howl

Ch. 5

Master Howl

Heim had been circling the Witch of the Waste before "hiccuping" and falling to the floor. The Witch, by her facial expressions, looked tired as usual while sitting down on the armchair by Calcifer. "What a pretty fire." She said. No one paid her no mind because she said it everyday.

Once the Witch and Heim stepped past the doorway, Howl closed the door behind him. The dial switched to green. Hannah sat on the table staring into the beloved eyes of the famous wizard.

"Good evening everyone," Howl said with pleasure.

"Good evening Howl." Sophie said, greeting him with a hug and a small peck on his cheek.

"So how's the patient doctor?" Howl said, looking at Hannah's bandaged knees.

"Master Howl, this is Hannah!" Markl said, taking in more than what he could hold.

"Hannah, is it?" Howl asked looking deeply into Hannah's eyes.

Hannah was frozen, not taking a moment to breathe in the sent of Howl's shampoo.

"Well, Hannah, you are welcome here. There's but one question I have to ask though. What is your favorite color?"

Hannah awoke from the trance. 'What idiot would ask for my favorite color? A phone number would have been better.' (this was angel, if you couldn't figure that out)

"What?"

"What is your favorite color?"

"Oh... umm... I guess, purple?"

"Are you sure?"

"No"

"Then what is it?"

"Pink"

"Is that your final answer?"

"Yes"

"Then pink it shall be!"

Hannah still didn't get why Howl needed Hannah's favorite color. Sophie and Markl stood in front of her, smiling. Heim had laid on the floor, dead tired. He sometimes wouldn't wake up in days. The Witch of the Waste locked her eyes upon Calcifer, giving him the shivers.

"Uh, Howl?... Howl?" Calcifer said, trying to get Howl's attention,"Howl, uh, Howl!"

"Twenty miles west of here, Calcifer. No potty breaks either!"

"Well could you at least get this nasty old hag out of my face!"

"What a pretty fire!"

A/N: Sorry it wasn't long enough to suit your needs, but, there was nothing else to say in this chapter. Hang tight for the next chapter, coming soon!


	6. Uh Oh SpaghettiO

A/N: I've forgotten to put down that I don't own any of the characters in this fic, so now I'm saying, I don't own any characters in this fic.

Ch. 6

Uh Oh Spaghetti-O's!

As Howl was walking away, laughing at Calcifer's request, Hannah jumped down from the table. As she was rubbing her butt, she thought to herself,' These stupid people. Messing around like children. Markl on the other hand, is a child, so..'

"Hannah! Do you want to get a snack from the fridge?" Markl asks.

''Okay."

Markl led Hannah to the kitchen where the fridge was littered in drawings.

"Did you make these, Markl?" Hannah asked, fingering through them.

"Does it look like I did!" Markl paused for a moment when he finally said," The Witch of the Waste drew them."

Taking his eyes off of Hannah, he opened the door (to the fridge) and started throwing rotten food behind him. An egg flew by Hannah's head, crashing to the floor behind her.

Hannah looked inside, and saw nothing but clutter. The milk jug had been opened, but was never closed, the six month old ham lay on plastic ware, supposedly eaten on Thanksgiving, and everything else had been covered in mold, mildew and/or ants.

YUCK!

Hannah plugged her nose tightly so none of the smell could reach her lungs.

"'Ow mush food do 'ou 'ave in tere?" ("how much food do you have in there?")

"What?" Markl asked, looking at her with a disgusted face.

"Ne'er ind." (Never mind)

Markl continued to throw things behind him until he finally reached the back.

"I've found them!"

He climbed in to reach the unknown snack. As he was beginning to climb out, Sophie walked in, reading the newspaper, not noticing the boy in the fridge.

Walking past it, she closed the fridge door, with Markl still inside.

Hannah unplugged her nose and laughed, falling to the floor.

"Hannah? What's the matter?"

Hannah pointed to the door and continued to laugh even harder.

Sophie walked to the fridge and carefully opened it. Markl's feet were blue.

"MARKL!" Sophie screamed, while running to the heater, carrying the boy.

"Oh my goodness... how could I let this happen!"

Hannah continued to laugh, but had enough strength to carry herself to the heater.

"Sophie?" Markl said, looking up into the teary eyed woman.

"I can hear his voice, but... I can't see him move!"

"Sophie? What's the matter with you!" Markl squirmed.

Sophie looked down at Markl, looking at his eyes blinking uncontrollably.

"You're okay! I'm so happy!"

"What happened in there, Markl?" Hannah asked, now recovered from her laughter.

"Well, I was going in to get our snack. I had finally reached the back and found it. When I was climbing out backward, someone had closed the door," he stopped for a moment and looked at Sophie sternly. She blushed. "Anyways, it was pitch black in there. I was going to knock down the door with my legs, or at least make a little bit of noise so that _somebody_ would hear me. As I was ready to hit the door, my legs collided with the fresh blue berries that Sophie and I had picked the night before. Then the door opened, I heard you laughing (pointed to Hannah) and I was being carried to the heater, for who knows what for."

"Wow." Hannah said, amazed about how he could talk so much and not screw up any details.

Sophie had gotten up when "story time" was over, and sat at the kitchen table, continuing with her progress in the newspaper.

"So where's our snack," Hannah asked as her stomach gurgled.

"Right here!"

Markl held out a pan of brownies, covered in the green mold found in the fridge.

Taking one glance at it Hannah replied," No thanks. I think I've lost my appetite along with my stomach."

"More for me then!"

Markl took the biggest brownie in the batch, which was coated with the most mold, and ate it slowly to gross Hannah out.

It worked because she ran to the bathroom, holding her mouth, and what was left in her stomach.

A/N: I'm kinda sorry for the short chapters, but you guys deserve every last bit of it. Do you wanna know why? Because you haven't REVIEWED! Okay then, I hope you heard that. Be back with the next chapter very very very very very soon...


	7. Pretty Pretty Princess

Once again, I don't own any of the characters. Just needed to say that.

Ch. 7

Pretty Pretty Princess

Howl had missed dinner that night, but Sophie thought he was just avoiding her meatloaf pie, with a side of smashed peas. Both Markl and Hannah gave their meals to Heim (he finally woke up!) who walked away from it sneezing. Sophie pretended to like it, but when Markl and Hannah turned their backs, she threw it in Calcifer's mouth. He of course, didn't like it, and almost threw up ashes.

The Witch of the Waste (we finally hear from her) only picked at it and "plopped" it on her plate, over and over again. It eventually became hard, and Sophie had no problem throwing it away.

When they were all done "eating" their meals, with empty stomachs, they sat at the blue furniture (sitting) room with the coffee table still separating them.

"What's Howl doing up there, Sophie?" Hannah asked, wondering if she would spill the beans.

"Hannah, he's doing something," Sophie said, trying to make Hannah believe that she didn't know about the surprise.

Hannah just ignored her and continued to look around the room. Markl was playing with his thumbs, doing who knows what, Calcifer sat at the fireplace where he's been the whole time, making disgusting faces. He could still taste the meatloaf and smashed peas. The Witch of the Waste continued, non stop, looking at Calcifer and muttering to herself,"What a pretty fire!" Heim just went to bed.

Finally, Markl interrupted the strange silence.

"Hannah," he said with a mischievous look on his face," I know what Howl's up to."

"Really!" she said, excited (and shocked) that Markl knew.

"Howl is a blood sucking vampire, and when you go to sleep, he's gonna bite your neck and slurp all your sugary, good tasting blood! Then, he'll go to the next victim, Sophie. Grabbing you up close and sinking his teeth, into your thin flesh, which will collect your blood, and..."

"MARKL!" Sophie and Hannah exclaimed, trembling while holding tight to one another.

"Calcifer, did I just make these two girls quiver in their boots?" Markl asked, winking slyly.

Calcifer pretended to be scared while mocking the two girls, (Sophie isn't really a girl, but its a abbreviation for woman)_" Oh no! Howl's going to suck our blood and feed us to the werewolves! "_

"Calcifer! I didn't even mention any werewolves!" Markl said, reaching for the blanket beside him. (Markl has a little secret!)

Hannah and Sophie giggled at the sight of Markl being afraid of an "overstuffed dog."

"I'm finished!" Howl exclaimed from the top of the stairs.

Those were the magic words that made Hannah and Markl shoot for the staircase.

Markl was in the lead, pushing Hannah down whenever she got to close to him. Hannah just kept tumbling down. When Markl reached the top, he ran for the new door in the hallway.

Hannah had reached the top by then, and was looking into the face of Howl. She slowly backed up to the opposite wall of him, and slowly squirmed to the door, not letting her eyes off him until he was out of sight.

When he was out of sight, she seen Markl holding his stomach in front of her new room.

"Ewww!"He said as he collapsed to the ground.

Hannah stood in her doorway, amazed at all the things that were going on in her room. _HER _room. Not Markl's, not Sophie's, not Howl's, not the Witch of the Waste's. Her room.

Her walls were moving masterpieces (look at the moving pictures on Harry Potter, you see what I mean), with elegant drapes made of pink silk surrounding her balcony window. On the walls were different types of horses and foals, prancing around on the hill top scenery. One foal was brave enough to walk up to Hannah and urge her to pet its mane. As Hannah reached out to pet it, she could feel the warmth and velvet smooth coat of the little animal. Its mom called it over to eat the sprouting dandelions once Hannah had finished.

Wanting to gaze more at her room more closely, she heard a soft cry coming from the ceiling. Once again, the moving pictures amazed her, and saw four different colored kittens playing with a ball of pink yarn. Unable to pet them, she moved on.

Her bed was made of pink silk, just like her drapes. Her vanity had two puppies painted on the mirror (she could still see herself). Her carpet was a soft peach color, and had a soft touch.

Howl and Sophie were standing in her doorway, watching her look at every detail, for an hour. When she finally realized they were there, she had to go to bed.

Howl tucked her in, and Sophie was there to supervise. It was the first time Howl tucked in a child. Markl just jumped in bed, no tucking in whatsoever.

"I think you've got it," Sophie said, smiling up at Howl when he finished.

Hannah discretely smiled under her blankets. She thought Howl and Sophie would make a cute couple. As Sophie left the room so suddenly, Hannah's heart began to pump wildly.

'What if Markl was right about Howl being a vampire?' she thought, causing her to be more scared.

Howl sat on her bed, being careful with her legs and knees.

"So, Hannah,"he said calmly,"how do you like your room?"

"I love it! Thank you for doing it for me," Hannah said, relaxed now that all he wanted to do was talk.

"I'm happy you do."

There was a strange silence after that. They just sat there looking at each other both groggily and carelessly.

"AHHHH!"

Howl jumped right off the bed when he heard Calcifer's high pitched scream.

"AHHHH!"

Howl quickly said good night to Hannah, turned off the light, closed the door, and ran downstairs to see what was going on.

A/N: YAAY! Two good news; one; the next chapter is going to get very very strange, action/adventurey, and has a cliffe! two; I got another review from some one nice!

Reviewer: Ultimate-Lady-Kay

Thank you again and again!

Things to clear up:1) I mentioned Sophie and Howl's rooms were separate. They aren't. I just wanted to make the story a little bit longer by adding a few words.2) Once the lights are off, the animals go to bed.

Please Review!


	8. The Little Girl that Cried Ahh! Prt 1

A/N: I wish I owned the characters, but sadly, I do not.

Ch. 8

The Little Girl that Cried "Ahhh!" Part One

Howl finally reached downstairs, panting heavily, and found the Witch of the Waste, just about to spill water all over Calcifer. As a few drops drifted downward, Howl ran to the Witch of the Waste's side, yanking the half filled bucket out of her clammy hands. Calcifer panted with relief and with exhaustion.

"Thank god some one came!" he said as he was about to collapse (not much of a fall though).

"What's wrong with you!" Howl exclaimed at the Witch angrily.

"Pretty fire!" the Witch said happily, jumping up and down while clapping her hands.

Sophie came running downstairs, holding the skirts of her nightgown.

"What's going on?" she asked as she gazed around the room.

"The Witch almost poured water over Calcifer!" Howl said, his temper rising.

"That's all? I ran down here in the middle of the night, dressed in my underwear, thinking that someone was hurt, or in danger." Sophie said, hands on her hips.

"Sophie, I'm sorry if I've upset you with my screams, but, if the Witch of the Waste pours water over me, nothing can support my life. I'm free, so there's nothing that anyone would be able to do." Calcifer said, apologetically.

"What a pretty fire!"

Sophie looked at Howl and Calcifer in awe, but didn't even bother to look at the Witch of the Waste.

After a long pause, Sophie calmed the Witch down,"I'll put her to bed, and lock her door. Will that be alright for the two of you?"

"Yes," Howl and Calcifer said, relaxing their tense shoulders.

Sophie took the Witch by the hand and had a short conversation down the hall.

"Why did you do that?" Sophie asked, bewildered that the Witch could pull that trick off again.

"What a pretty fire," the Witch responded groggily.

When they reached her room, Sophie gently put the Witch at her bed, and put the covers over her. Sophie reached across the room, toward the little table where the key was placed, but couldn't find it.

"Did you take the key?" Sophie asked the Witch of the Waste, laying a single eye upon her.

The Witch turned away from Sophie and began to snore very loudly.

Sophie looked at her hand, somewhat tightening around something.

She tried her hardest to open it, but the Witch wouldn't budge. Sophie used all the strength she could to open her hand, and eventually seen a small shimmer of light.

"Give it to me!" Sophie yelled, getting angrier by the minute.

"I don't have anything you want, Sophie," the Witch said in a 'matter-of-fact' tone.

Things were knocked over as both the women scrambled around the room, trying to retrieve the item from one another. Sophie eventually weakened her grip on the key, and ran to go get Howl.

When she reached the living room, Howl had been talking to Calcifer about their wedding plans.

"Howl! The Witch has the key! You have to get it!" She exclaimed, running out of breath.

Howl ran past her, and grabbed her hand as soon as he heard her say that the Witch had the key. When they reached the doorway, the Witch of the Waste was gone.

"AHHHHHHH!"

A shriek of terror was coming from up the stairs.

"Hannah!" Sophie exclaimed.

Howl bolted up the stairs, Sophie close behind him.

Calcifer tried to move every way he could to try to see what was going on.

Howl reached Hannah's door and tried turning the knob. It was locked. (of course, Markl and Heim have been sleeping through all this excitement)

Howl crashed his foot against the door, causing it to fall down after the third hit. He and Sophie barged in, finding the Witch of the Waste holding Hannah in the air by her hair.

"Hannah!" Sophie screamed in pain and sympathy.

"What do you think of the impostor now?" the Witch yelled over Hannah's screams.

She started to walk backward to the balcony window. Everything suddenly became alive as Howl turned on the lights. Everything he had created had hissed, barked, and wined at the Witch, making her even more angry.

"Hold on,"Howl said calmly,"Don't hurt her. Just let her down slowly."

The Witch had reached the balcony, balancing herself against the wind.

"Let go? Okay, if you say so."

She released Hannah from her grip and let her fall over the railing.

"HANNAH!" Sophie screamed, falling to the floor in tears.

Howl pushed the Witch of the Waste out of his way as he jumped off the railing and turned into his bird form. Hannah continued to scream as she fell farther and farther away from her loving "family". She was reaching closer and closer to the ground and realized, she might not live. She closed her eyes, unwilling to see her death approaching.

Howl flapped his wings faster and faster, losing feathers behind him. He could see the faint shadow of Hannah growing as he continued to soar downward.

Howl had seen her terrified face as she began to fall to her doom.

A/N: CLIFFIE! He he he! Please tell me you liked this chapter, even though it's really really mean! I'm only going to update when you give me 500,000,000,000,000 reviews! JJ! But I'm only updating once people start sending complaint mail.


	9. The Little Girl That Cried Ahh! Prt 2

A/N: Finally, the moment has come. Ta Da! enjoy!

I don't own the characters, just the movie.

Ch.9 The Little Girl that Cried "Ahhh!" Part Two!

Howl continued to fly down at an alarming rate. Hannah reached for him as he scooped her up with his tense arms. She wrapped her shaking hands around his neck and began to cry into his feathery chest. Howl turned and headed toward the living room window, anger flooding through his veins.

"It's alright, Hannah. It's all over," Howl said, trying to keep her calm.

She looked up at him, tears blocking her vision.

'No it isn't. The war has just begun,' She thought to herself.

Howl had reached the window, gently guiding Hannah in. When she safely touched the castle's floor, Howl began to climb in. Because it was a small space, Hannah had to tug with all her strength to separate him from the window.

Once both of them were inside, Howl set Hannah on the couch.

"Hannah, I need you to stay right here while I go upstairs," Howl said, looking deep into her eyes," I'll bring Sophie down to check up on you."

Hannah began to cry, all the memories flooding back, even though it was only a short time ago she was thrown from her window.

"Don't worry, you're going to be alright," Howl said, wiping her tears away with his thumb. He gave her a small kiss on her forehead (to feel better), and ran upstairs to have a talk with the Witch of the Waste.

Calcifer, watching the two having a serious conversation, motioned Hannah over when Howl ran upstairs.

"Hannah, what happened?" He asked her, feeling kind of guilty.

Hannah didn't answer him. She continued to look at his flickering flames while a tear trickled down her cheek.

Calcifer tried his best to make her spill the beans, but it was useless.

Her tear dropped to the floor, creating a mark that appeared to have a circle inside a triangle, with a tear shape on the inside of the circle, along with weird lettering and symbols.

Calcifer looked down, to see what the mark said, but only ancient sorcery could decipher it.

Unable to read it, he turned his attention back to Hannah, but found Angel, looking at him in a depressed way. Calcifer was flabbergasted. He couldn't say a word.

Angel had created another tear that began to fall down her cheek, faster than the first.

"Hannah!" Calcifer heard Sophie scream at the top of the stairs.

"Hannah, you have got to turn back. Sophie's coming!" Calcifer whispered.

Not listening to him, she let her tear fall until it balanced on her chin.

"Hannah!" Sophie screamed again, running down the stairs.

Calcifer, unable to do anything, watched as Angel blinked and returned to "Hannah" form.

"Hannah!" Sophie, once again, screamed at the foot of the stairs.

Hannah turned to face her, tears and sorrow wiped away. Sophie ran toward her, crying her eyes out, and smothered her with hugs and kisses. Unable to breathe, Hannah tried to push her way out, but was much to weak.

Once Sophie was done choking Hannah to death, she looked her up and down for any injuries, but found nothing, not even where her hair was tugged away from her scalp.

Calcifer was still dazed, wondering how Hannah had changed into another person, who he somehow knew, was herself. Sophie dragged herself to the couch, tired from all the day's excitement.

Hannah looked at Calcifer sternly, setting him back a bit, and walked slowly over to Sophie.

"Sophie, I gotta tell you something," Hannah said, almost regretting that she was going to tell her, "I'm..."

Hannah was interrupted by a large door slam from upstairs. Sophie automatically wrapped her arms around Hannah, ready to move her from harm.

Hannah's heart began to pound once more as the Witch of the Waste and Howl walked down the stairs.

A/N: Did ya like it! Two reasons I didn't update sooner; 1) my computer's Internet basically disconnected, so my dad had to fix it. 2) I've been camping with my aunt, uncle, three cousins, my grandma, and of course my sister. Ugh. I was busy, that's all. Now that I've answered most/all your burning questions, and have more, go ahead and email me, or even better, write a review! I'll try to answer anything as soon as possible. I promise I won't leave you again. sniff. I missed you all to tell you the truth... ok.


	10. What Happened to the Witch of the Waste?

A/N: I thank you all for the loverly reviews, and I hope this chapter gets even more of 'em!

I don't own any body. Oh wait! I own Hannah! Ha ha!

Ch. 10 What happened to the Witch of the Waste?

**NOTE: This is continued from the part when Howl barged up the stairs.**

Sophie lay her head on Hannah's bed, sobbing uncontrollably. Her shoulders rose up and down very fast when she tried to breathe. The Witch stood at Hannah's balcony window, gazing at the ground, watching if her deed was done.

After a moments silence, Sophie screamed,"Why did you have to do that? She's only a girl, what did she ever do to you!"

The Witch ignored her and continued to look out the balcony.

Howl barged through the door, tense and sweaty. Sophie and the Witch jumped, as the crashing of the door brought their attention. Both of them had different reactions.

"Howl, is she okay?" Sophie said, digging her face into his chest.

"She's alright Sophie," Howl said, with a deep sigh,"She may have injuries, so I need you to go take a look at her."

Sophie gave him a small kiss and ran downstairs to check on Hannah, knowing that the real reason he wanted her to leave was; he wanted that "heart to heart chat" with the Witch.

Howl looked at the Witch of the Waste with anger and pain. She returned the look with her sharp tongue peeling her lips to the point where it was sticking out as far as it could go.

Howl took his hand and closed the door behind him, so fast, it didn't have time to creak.

The Witch turned her back to him and looked at the clouds covering the moon in an elegant manor.

"Why?" Howl said, surprised that he was the one to talk first.

"Why, what?" the Witch snapped back.

"Why did you drop, Hannah!" Howl said angrily. His blood was boiling inside his heart.

"Her name isn't Hannah." The Witch said calmly, knowing she stopped him right in his tracks.

"What!"

"You heard me, she isn't Hannah. She's Angel." The Witch put on one of her many "disguises" and tricked him.

"You've gone too far, old hag!"

"I'm only telling the truth ,Howl. You know I can't use magic." She said, with her sly grin still implanted on her face.

She stopped gazing out the window, and turned to face the tall, young, confused man. She walked one step forward, and found Howl twitch. She smiled at him, and continued to walk. She reached the door, which was right behind Howl, and started to move her hand to the door handle. Before she could lay a clammy finger on it, he moved his hand, touching the handle, and her disgusting hand.

"Oh Howl. It's too late to love me now. Your engaged." Her eyes sparkled a little as she looked into Howl's.

"I'm not affectionate towards you, you shriveled up prune."Howl said, a disgusted face glaring at her.

"Then tell me. Why do you keep your hand on the handle, when you know you want me to leave?"

There was no point in arguing. Howl slid his hand off the handle, and watched the hag, making sure she wouldn't run for it.

She opened the door and began walking down the stairs like her "normal" self. As she reached the middle of the staircase, she stopped to watch everyone glaring at her. She now felt unwanted, and wanted to leave this place as soon as possible.

Howl stayed behind her until she reached the bottom. He walked over to the door, getting ready to open it when she reached it.

She walked slower and slower as she passed Calcifer. She looked at the floor, and stopped momentarily. She found the inscription. The Witch smiled at Calcifer, giving him a wink, causing him to feel nauseated.

The Witch of the Waste turned her head to Sophie and Hannah. Looking at Hannah, she gave a secret wink, so Sophie wouldn't pounce on her. The Witch stopped in front of Howl and said softly,"Tell Markl I've enjoyed his company."

Howl opened the door, guiding the Witch outside. Once she was out of their lives, into the darkness, everyone could hear her whisper, "What a pretty fire."

Hannah hugged Sophie tightly, telling her she wanted to go to bed. Sophie slowly rose off the couch, and walked up the stairs with Howl right behind her.

Calcifer watched them go up the stairs, until the ceiling prevented him from watching them. He turned off the lights on the main floor, and closed his eyes.

_'How does she know?.. Does she know?.. Is she coming back?..'_ Calcifer thought to himself.

Little did he know, she would be coming back... very soon.

A/N: How'd ya like it? Is it a really big cliffie? I hope not. You won't be finding out anything about the Witch of the Waste in the next chapter though. But it will be soon (if i include it...).

Things to clear up: Markl HAS been sleeping through all this excitement. Heim has just listened to parts of conversations. When I said the Witch put on one of her many "disguises" and tricked him, I meant, she grinned evilly. Well, I hope you review. Go on! The button is just right there! Push it!


	11. Dreams of Horror

A/N: Okay, I gots some bad news, and some good news. The bad news is, I _might_ be ending the story soon. The good news is, I'm not sure when. Also, I want to tell you that all the reviewers are being extra special, so I'm giving them a preview on another chapter. There's going to be a birthday party, and it's going to be extra special... Anyway on with the story!

I own Hannah, the movie, my cat Figaro, and, that's about it...

Ch. 11 Dreams of Horror

Everyone had trouble sleeping that night. Hannah had a nightmare, which included her falling out the window, but never coming back. Sophie had a nightmare, similar to Hannah's. Heim had a dream about young, beautiful french poodles, taking his bones away from him. Calcifer had a night mare about the Witch pouring the water on top of him, and Howl never came to rescue him. Markl had a nightmare, that he was captured by a pack of werewolves.

Howl had the worst nightmare of all. Markl, Sophie, and Hannah were stripped from his life _forever_.

He jolted from the bed, scaring the living daylights out of Sophie.

"Howl! What's the matter!" She exclaimed, eyes foggy and heart pumping.

He said nothing, but looked at her, getting ready to cry. She was there, unharmed.

Sophie became scared. A tear trickled down her cheek. Howl seen it immediately, and wiped it away. Slowly, she leaned into him as their lips touched. Howl wanted to stay, and cradle Sophie, but he wanted, no, _needed_ to check on Hannah and Markl.

He slowly pulled away, and put on his robe. Sophie understood he was worried about something, so she let him go.

Walking groggily down the hall, he went into Hannah's bedroom.

She lay in her bed, sweat covering her forehead. Her nightmare had replayed itself in her head, and she couldn't escape from it.

Howl looked at her, and wiped his hand on her forehead. Her sweat was gone, and she felt more relaxed. Because of Howl, her dream had changed. Howl saved her from the depths of the Waste.

He kissed the top of her head, and wandered to Markl's room.

Markl lay on his bed, butt in the air, and blankets on the floor. Apparently, he had been running away from the pack, and kicked the blankets off. Howl chuckled quietly, wondering how anybody could sleep the way he did.

Howl grabbed the blankets on the floor, and put them on top of the young boy.

Somehow, knowing that someone was with him, Markl relaxed, and his butt slowly descended. He had been saved by Howl. The blankets had shielded him from harm.

Howl rubbed his head, and grinned.

Everyone was safe in their beds, thinking of happy thoughts. Howl could now go to bed.

But, of course, he needed to check out the rest of the family.

Calcifer's flames were dancing around in a frantic way. Knowing that he had a nightmare too, Howl put two logs on top of him.

Calcifer awoke, trying to figure out where he was. Seeing the two logs, he ate them immediately. Howl began to sit on the armchair, when out of the corner of his eye, he saw Heim, moving his paws like he was running.

"Tonight is a very bad night I presume." Howl whispered to himself, walking over to Heim.

Heim had just reached the prettiest poodle, carrying the biggest bone, when he felt himself being lifted into the air. He opened his eyes, finding Howl grinning at him. Heim had thanked him for being rescued by licking him.

Howl laughed as he carried him to the armchair. Howl sat, with Heim on his lap. Howl picked up the first book on the stand, not realizing what it was. He began to read, unable to put it down;

_Dear Diary, _

_Howl has gone upstairs to paint Hannah's bedroom. I think he'll miss my dinner again tonight... Anyway, Hannah is so adorable! She has long brown hair, and the cutest little nose. And the strangest thing is, she has different colored eyes! Her left one is a beaming blue one, while her right one, is a soft ember. I know it's possible, but they seem to be a different size..._

_She is very special. But it's horrible that she doesn't know where she's from. Everywhere we've gone, we haven't heard of a missing girl..._

_Oh, I almost forgot! I need to remember to give Markl his note addressed to Hannah when he feels ready. They are so sweet together. They've gotten along so well, even if they have a little argument. Actually, I don't think I've ever heard them argue... Well, I must go. Heim has taken a load off on the carpet, and I need to fetch the newspaper. We should teach Heim to do that._

_Tootle loo!_

_Sophie_

Howl smiled softly, looking at the swirly penmanship she made. She had finally mastered the "S" she had been working so hard on.

Howl turned the page, eager to read more, but found two blank pages. Getting ready to close it, he seen a small note in the crease.

_'Maybe she couldn't find her diary, so she wrote the rest on a piece of paper...' _Howl thought.

Opening it, he found not Sophie's fancy writing, but Markl's squiggly writing.

_Dear Hannah,_

_I know that I should talk to you in person, but I find a note a lot better. Anyways, I wanted to tell you that you are very nice, and very, um pretty. Please don't think of me as Markl, think of me as a little bit more of a friend._

_From,_

_Markl_

Howl laughed and laughed, causing Heim to jump off his lap, and Calcifer wondering what he was doing.

Howl looked at Calcifer, and saw his eager face, and reread the note. When he was done, both him and Calcifer laughed. Howl found tears in his eyes, as he began to stop.

Everything was quiet, and still, as Howl sat on the armchair, looking at everything in the room. He had become bored, and was starting to feel tired again.

Remembering the note, Howl grabbed it, and started to walk upstairs. Calcifer turned out the lights, and went to bed. Heim had already curled up by the time the two were done laughing.

Howl went into Hannah's bedroom, note in hand, and reached for her fuzzy pink pen on her bedside table. He scribbled the words "To Hannah" on the front, and placed the note gently next to her lamp.

Howl walked out, into his bedroom, and found Sophie fast asleep. He stopped to look at her, and found himself in love all over again. Her soft features, brought out her starlight hair, and her ebony eyes. She was the most beautiful woman he laid eyes on, and he was proud she was his.

He slowly got in bed, trying not to disturb the sleeping beauty. He could dream wonderful thoughts about his one true love, and their upcoming wedding. As he began to think, his eyes drooped, meeting his lower eyelid, casting him in darkness, lulling him to sleep.

A/N: Aww! There was a little bit of fluff in there. And... did you here? UPCOMING WEDDING! I bet you can't wait can you? Well too bad! Send in those reviews! Now!


	12. Privacy Read Aloud

A/N: Sorry I didn't update sooner. I was having trouble figuring out what this chapter was about. Well, I bet you've ignored every word I said, and have already begun reading the story. Okay then.

I own: Hannah, the Studio Ghibli movies, Figaro, the big poodle with the big bone, and, that's about it... Hey! It's slowly growing! I'm gonna be a millionaire!

Ch. 12 Privacy Read Aloud

Markl awoke, sweat dripping down his forehead. As he was about to get up, a pounding headache entered, and strength left. His arms hurt, just for trying to get up. He looked around his room, waiting for his strength to return, when he noticed his blankets were on top of him.

_' What the heck did I dream last night?' _he thought.

All he knew was, every night, he had the same dream, or nightmare, and his blankets were always on the floor.

He laid in his bed for a few minutes, looking at his light blue ceiling. Becoming inpatient, he rolled off the bed, and landed on the floor, pain, somewhat flowing in his back.

Laying on the hard wood floor cooled his face, and gave him the strength to stand up. His headache worsened, but he was happy. Today, he had the strength in his heart to give Hannah the note he wrote.

Sophie was kind, and she wouldn't look into his personal belongings. Plus, she had good hiding places for notes; in her diary.

_' I chose the right person to keep my note hidden.' _Markl thought, knowing he had done something right, that included Hannah.

He was still sweaty, so he decided to take off his pajama shirt. The breeze felt nice on his chest, and it gave him even more courage.

**XXX**

Howl was reading the newspaper, hiding his smug face, as Sophie worked, getting everyone's breakfast ready. Calcifer had nothing to hide his face, but luckily, Sophie was way to busy to notice.

Markl walked down the stairs, giving everyone a nice "good morning" welcome. Heim ignored him, and went back to bed. Howl and Calcifer froze.

_' He never wakes up this early,'_ Howl thought,_' Hopefully he won't notice...'_

_' Why does he do this when we've done something!' _Calcifer thought, angry as could be.

Ignoring the two "ice cubes", Markl walked to Sophie, trying to talk with her.

"Sophie, you know that... "thing"... I gave you? Well I'm ready to have it back..."

"Markl, I'm sorry, but you're going to have to wait. I'm a little busy." Sophie said, rushing around the kitchen.

Markl understood, but he wanted to have it now before he lost his confidence. He knew where Sophie put it, so he walked to the green armchair and reached for her diary.

Howl peeked over the newspaper, watching Markl, as his heart pounded madly. Calcifer tried to make excuses in his head as the tip of his flames sparked in panic.

Calmly opening the diary, he turned the pages one by one, ignoring the writing. He knew girls didn't like their privacy invaded, but he wasn't actually_ reading_ it.

Howl's face began to turn a light shade of green, and felt sick to his stomach. Calcifer closed his eyes, picturing how mad Sophie would be, face all red and swelled up.

Sophie finished making their meals, and began to deliver them, when she seen Markl fingering through her diary.

"Markl... what are you doing?" Sophie asked, getting ready to pounce on him.

"I'm just trying to find my note- I mean - thing. Don't worry, I'm not reading it." Markl said, unaware of Sophie's facial expression.

"It's in the back," She said, a little calmer. She knew Markl wouldn't read a woman's diary. He respected their privacy.

"Oh, okay,"

Markl flipped to the back, expecting to find his note. All there was was blank pages.

Howl and Calcifer felt their life stopping sharply, as they looked at Markl's face. Sophie looked at Markl, then at the two "adults", wondering if there was a cold spreading, when she finally realized what was going on.

"Howl, honey. Did you by any chance see Markl's note, addressed to Hannah?" She could feel his guilt, bubbling inside him, but he wouldn't let it free.

"How about you Calcifer?" She knew he couldn't resist her puppy dog eyes, and got the truth, nothing but the truth, to spill out.

Calcifer bit his lower lip as he looked at Markl, getting ready to cry," It's Howl's fault! He's the one that read your diary, took the note and gave it to Hannah!" He knew that he was going to get double hard working duty tonight.

"What!" Both Markl and Sophie exclaimed.

"Um... sweetie... I didn't actually _give_ the note to Hannah, I-"

"No excuses! You are not getting breakfast! You invaded my privacy! You even hurt Markl!" Sophie was enraged.

"But I didn't mean to, I-"

"No buts! You and Calcifer are going to get a bunch of work to do around here, and get it all done TODAY!"

No one argued with Sophie after that. She meant what she meant, and that was that. Markl on the other hand, felt like crap, and ran to his room.

"Look what you did Howl! Does it make you happy to upset a child!"

"Hey! Don't forget to blame Calcifer!"

Calcifer definitely felt guilty, and no yelling had to uncover it. Howl could run away, but he had to stay where he was at all times.

XXX

Hannah awoke, feeling a little warm, but not sickly warm. She got up, her new nightgown flowing behind her, and slipped on her fuzzy pink slippers. She was beginning to get tired of the pink, but didn't want to admit it.

She opened her door, and felt a wave of screams enter. She ran downstairs, hoping every thing was alright.

Seeing Hannah run down the stairs, interrupted Sophie's argument with Howl.

"Are you okay Hannah?" Sophie asked, her mad facial expression wiped away.

"Oh Sophie! You upset a child! How do you feel about that!" Howl exclaimed, realizing he had said the wrong thing.

"Howl! Do you understand that I wasn't the only one upsetting Hannah! If you hadn't read my diary, none of this would have happened!"

"Well, maybe you should leave your diary someplace hidden!" Howl exclaimed again, realizing, once more, that he said the wrong thing.

"HE READ YOUR DIARY!" Hannah interrupted, screaming over everyone else's screams.

Everyone had forgotten about the girl on the stairs, and directed their gaze on her.

"Yes he did... Now, Howl. Since I placed my diary in the "wrong spot", I will forgive you. But you had no right to read Markl's personal thoughts. You need to apologize." Sophie said, calm, cool, and collected.

She had a feeling that he would go into one of his "phases", but was surprised that all he did was whine.

"Sophie, do I have to?"

"Yes Howl! You have to."

"Okay, I'm confused." Everyone looked at Hannah, when Sophie began to explain the story of Howl and Calcifer breaking into her private thoughts and Markl's private feelings.

XXX

When Sophie was done, Hannah had grabbed Howl's breakfast and dug in.

"Howl... that was... a very mean thing... to do... Sophie, this breakfast is good!" Hannah said between bites.

Howl only looked at his breakfast, being devoured by a six year old.

"Sophie, are you sure I can't have anything for breakfast?" he asked.

"Well. Lets see... you can have prune juice with plain oatmeal... Is that what you want?"

"Um... never mind."

"Howl, you need to go up there and say sorry." Hannah said, now finished with her hearty breakfast.

"Hannah, you're friends with Markl, right?" Howl said, brewing up a plan in his head.

"Yea... Why?"

"Well, since you two listen to each other, then you should say sorry for me."

"Howl! Stop asking people to do stuff for you!" Sophie exclaimed, getting angry all over again.

"Sophie, I think it's a good idea. I can say sorry for him." Hannah said. She _did_ want to go upstairs and say sorry, even though she didn't do it.

"Well, no one's stopping you." Calcifer said, regretting he said that.

XXX

Markl laid on his bed, crying silently. He wanted no one to know his true confessions, and he especially didn't want Howl to know. With the big mouth he had, he would tell the whole world.

_' What's done is done, I guess,' _Markl thought, getting ready to go back downstairs. Just as he reached for the door handle, there was a knock.

"Who is it?" Markl said, getting teary eyed all over again.

"It's.. it's Hannah"

Markl opened the door, and saw Hannah's eyes beginning to water.

"What do you want?" Markl said harshly. She probably read the note already.

"I'm here to give this back to you." She held out her hands, holding the note,"I didn't read it if you-"

"But I want you to." interrupted Markl. Now he felt like a major fool.

"Oh. Um... okay."

Without asking, she walked into his room and sat on his bed. Markl felt a little better, knowing that _he_ said he wanted her to read it.

It took a little bit for her to read it. She hadn't _quite_ mastered reading yet. Markl sat next to her, looking at his feet swinging back and forth.

Once she was finished, she looked up at him, and realized his shirt wasn't on. (It wasn't on all morning if you forgot) She became shy all of a sudden, and stuttered when she talked.

"T-that was v-very n-nice Markl." She could feel her cheeks get a bright pink.

"Oh, um, really?" He began to feel it too.

"Yea! You're a good writer, and you're a good friend, but I don't thi-"

Markl went a little over the top. He leaned in, and quickly kissed her, interrupting her sentence. It was no ordinary kiss on the cheek either. He went for the big boom, and kissed her on the lips.

Panicking a little, he ran out of the room, downstairs, where Sophie was lecturing Howl and Calcifer about keeping their noses in their own businesses.

XXX

Hannah sat on the bed, her face plastered the way it was during the two second kiss. She had butterflies in her stomach, and they wouldn't leave her alone. She kinda liked that feeling. She could feel her heart lift, and a smile growing. She never felt this happy before.

A/N: Awww! More than "little fluffies" in there! I hope all of you got the butterflies like I did. I don't know why though. Well, if you have ideas for chapters, just ask me, and I'll take it into consideration. Well, now all ya have to do is Review! Go on! Do it!


	13. The Worst Punishment

A/N: I'm sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo sorry that I didn't post up sooner... I've been busy, didn't have any idea what I was going to do in this chapter, and that's about it... I've had all of you in mind though...

Maybe it's the chapter number that's preventing me from making the chapter...

Ch. 13 The Worst Punishment in the World

Markl grabbed his cold breakfast off the kitchen counter, and sat it on the table. So many things began running through his mind, but everything always ended with the incident that occurred only moments ago. His face turned a deep crimson, and his palms began to sweat.

Through the corner of his eye, he could see Sophie with a confused expression planted on her face. He turned his head in her direction, a slice of bacon dangling from his mouth.

"Continue eating," Sophie said, looking up at the ceiling with a sudden interest.

'Uh oh,' Markl thought, 'she knows something.'

He did as he was told, and ignored everyone in the room, who were actually looking at him.

There was a slight creak on the floorboards upstairs, and everyones eyes fluttered to gaze at little Hannah.

Hannah blushed a furious pink, as all eyes remained on her.

'What did I do?' she thought.

Markl finished the rest of his breakfast, and forced himself to look at Sophie.

"Well, now that you two are down here, I would like to announce Howl's punishment."

Howl eyes shifted around the room, trying to find a spot to look at, without it looking back at him.

"Howl, I've been thinking lately. Since Hannah stepped into the castle, she hasn't been outdoors at all. Neither has Markl. So... the punishment shall be... Camping!"

"CAMPING!" The pale Howl exclaimed.

Markl and Hannah looked at each other, forgetting about earlier that day.

'This is going to be so fun!' They both thought.

Calcifer looked at Howl and could only think of the fun he would have all by his self.

"Yes, Howl, camping. It'll be the perfect punishment for you at least."

"But what about my warm baths?"

"You have two options: One, you go in the cold lake and be happy, or, Two, take a bath now, and soak in it, for it would be your last on the trip." Sophie was so happy. She would finally get Howl to do something exciting, and she would force him to like it.

"Should we go pack now, Sophie?" Markl asked. He and Hannah sat through the conversation, and thought it was delightful seeing Howl in his weak form, but it was cutting down on their camping time.

"Why yes! Go! We're leaving in a couple of hours!"

"Why does it have to be a couple of hours, Sophie!"

The two children left, dashing up the stairs, not wanting to see what would happen next.

"Howl, you should enjoy this. It'll be better than staying home with Calcifer."

Calcifer turned to Sophie, " Do you mean that Heen's going too!"

"Yes Calcifer, Heen is going. Why?"

"This will be the best weekend of my life!" He said, wanting to jump up and down.

"Actually, we'll be gone for a week."

Calcifer looked up at Sophie, wanting to reach for her and give her a kiss, but thought it would be better to keep that to himself.

"A- a- week...?" Howl asked, beginning to wobble.

Sophie looked at him and giggled. He had been drooling on his shirt, and created a giant puddle of spit on himself.

"Well then. looks like you've decided on number two."

**XXX**

Hannah and Markl went rummaging around their rooms trying to find their essentials for camping. Markl had trouble finding everything through the toys and magic books he had. Hannah had no idea where Howl put every item in her room.

Both were done about 45 minutes after they began, but were out of breath.

**XXX**

Sophie dragged Howl up the stairs into the bath that Calcifer had prepared for him.

"Get washed up, and I'll see you down stairs in about an hour."

Howl paid no mind to her, and began arranging his potions.

**XXX**

The kids caught their breaths, and met in the hallway. All they had to pack now were the things in the bathroom.

Markl had an idea to race to the bathroom, and Hannah agreed, getting a head start. Markl caught up to her, but she disappeared. He looked back and saw her face first on the floor. Being a kind boy, he went back to see if she was okay.

"I'm okay, but you're eating my dust!"

She took off, leaving him stunned. She reached the bathroom as the winner, and opened the door to find Howl in his bubble bath.

"Okay Hannah, you win but I get to-"

Markl looked in the door, can't believing what his eyes were seeing. Master Howl... in a bubble bath.

"Are you going to get what you want, or just stare at me all day!"

"Sorry Master Howl."

The two children left the bathroom, arms full of their needs, and closed the door. One look at each other made them laugh so hard, both of them started snorting.

A/N: I'm soooo sorry still that I hadn't updated that long! I'm going to be starting school in a couple of weeks! NOOO! Anyhoo, I hope to get the next chapter up a lot quicker than this one... hopefully.


	14. The Past

A/N: Well... looks like only a few people are actually interested in my story... sniff I would like at least one review.. BUT NOT FROM BLUEMOON FAIRY!

Ch. 14 The Past

Once they were done laughing/snorting, Markl and Hannah went back to work packing their things.

**XXX**

It had been an hour, and Howl was still in the tub. Sophie stormed up the stairs, and knocked harshly on the bathroom door.

"Howl! You come out here this instant! You are going on this trip, whether you like it or not!"

Everyone was downstairs, and couldn't help but overhear Sophie.

"I'm coming in..." Sophie hesitated. She _really_ didn't want to go in there.

**XXX**

Sophie opened the door, and saw Howl sitting there, bubbles swarmed around him. She put her hand in the water, and found it quite warm. Angrily, she took a towel from the stack, and placed it on the toilet seat.

"Howl... you need to come out in five minutes! If you don't, I'll drag you outside naked!" She paused for a moment. There was absolutely no emotion with this statement, which caused Sophie to storm out.

**XXX**

Five minutes passed, and he still wasn't downstairs. Markl and Hannah had been waiting patiently by the door, waiting for him. "Sophie, what are you going to do to Master Howl?" Markl asked.

"Honestly Markl, I have no clue."

Sophie began to walk up the stairs, and drag him out naked, when he turned the corner of the stairwell, and bumped into her. She began to topple, when Howl prevented the nasty fall.

"Sophie, I'm sorry I've caused you stress. Will you forgive me?" Howl asked in his soothing voice.

Sophie took one look in his shimmering blue eyes, and forgot everything that had happened that day.

"Of course I forgive you! Why wouldn't I?"

They were about to "snuggle" when Markl cut in with a grunt.

"Can we go now?" Hannah asked impatiently.

"But I haven't packed my bags yet!" Howl said.

"Not to worry. I packed them when you were taking your forever bath, oh! I need to take care of something quick..."

Sophie walked to Calcifer, whispering something that made his eyes go very large. "Are you serious?" He asked. Sophie giggled, and softly shook her head. She went back to Howl's side, and gave him a butterfly kiss.

Markl turned the dial to green, and they were off, into the great beyond of the "secret garden". Hannah had seen this for the first time, and felt overwhelmed at the gorgeous site in front of her.

Sophie began to lead the group, past a large hill, and over a small pond. They were about a mile away from the little cottage, when they made camp. Markl and Hannah immediately dropped their things and began to explore. Howl plopped on the picnic blanket that everyone would be eating on in a little bit. Heen wondered off, trying to find a place to "go". Sophie gathered a pile of sticks, and arranged them in a perfect way to light them, and make the perfect flame; but of course, she needed a certain someone to help...

Sophie started cooking the rice and chicken, which she had packed in a special bag, enchanted by Howl. By the time they began to sizzle, Sophie and Howl had nothing to talk about; that is, until Heen barked madly. The couple looked over in Heen's direction, but couldn't see anything that would make him upset. "Maybe it's a squirrel." Howl muttered.

Ten minutes later, he still barked, and Howl and Sophie became worried. Howl got up to see what was going on.

Once he reached the patch of dirt, he saw a limp Hannah, a bruise on her forehead. Howl picked her up right away, and carried her to the site. Sophie looked up, and found to her horror, what she thought was a dead Hannah. "She's fine," Howl calmly said," Go get Markl. I'll watch after her."

Sophie quickly blew out the fire and ran to find Markl. Howl looked down on Hannah, trying to find something that would tell him what happened.

**XXX**

Angel sat on her throne, reading her colorful ABC's Book. She had just turned six yesterday, and got it from her mother as a present. She was up to the letter "J", when Edswigin informed her that dinner was ready. Angel put down her book, with a little leaf from the outside world marking her place.

Angel's father was already seated at the dinner table, when Angel came in. "Hello father," she said blandly. Her father didn't respond, and watched the potatoes steam in his soup. "Father," Angel said suspiciously," Where's mother?" As soon as she mentioned it, her father began drowning in tears.

She saw him trying to hide his face, but rushed right over to his side. "Father, what's wrong?"

Her father looked into his daughter's ember eyes, but couldn't find the words. She looked at him with puzzlement, until it finally clicked in her head... she had left... for good. Watching the tears stream down his face caused her to cry also. She had never felt this way in her life, and hoped it would never happen again.

Angel found out later, that her mother died in an "accident" in the world above. No one knew exactly what happened, but it was possible it was a murder.

**XXX**

Angel, now ten, wanted to go up there, forgetting what happened four years ago. Calmly, she went up to her father, and asked; "Father, may I please go up there to explore?"

Her father, busy with his studies, replied a no without any expression. "Why?" she asked harshly.

"Don't you remember what happened four years ago!"

She hesitated,"Y-yes."

"Why would you want to go up there, when so many people are cruel, and would want to hurt you?"

"What!"

"Darling, what I'm trying to say is, no one is allowed up there any more. Some one could get hurt, or maybe even killed like your mother!"

Angel stormed off to her room, and slammed the door, making sure everyone knew she was angry.

**XXX**

By the time she had turned sixteen, it had been ten years, and she'd grown immensely. She became more evil and mean, and had also gone off on her own to many places without telling her father, or even Edswigin. She had gone everywhere, except for up above. She wondered about it, and studied it, but didn't have the nerve to go, especially in her natural form. Everyone would know she was an outcast, but... if she had a human body, it could possibly happen...

That's when she came across Hannah.

**XXX**

Sophie finally found Markl, hiding behind a pair of bushes. "Markl," she puffed, "You need to come with me... something bad has happened with Hannah." Markl got up to his feet, and ran, Sophie right behind him.

**XXX**

Hannah's eyes shot open, and found Howl hovering over her. She couldn't remember what had happened... all she remembered was her past... and even that wasn't clear.

Markl and Sophie were right beside Hannah in a matter of minutes, checking to make sure she was alright. Hannah sat up, rubbing her head, all thoughts rearranging. "Hannah?" Markl asked, "are you alright?" Hannah looked at him and smiled sheepishly. "What happened?" She asked them. "We were hoping you would tell us." Sophie said, relieved. Hannah struggled, but she found that she and Markl were playing hide and go seek, and Hannah was "it". Just when she counted to one hundred, she felt a sharp pain in her head, specifically her forehead, and then felt the floor rise to her face. Everything went black after that. (Of course she lied, there was more to it than that.)

"Well, looks like your head is alright, and you look fine. No more bruises, cuts or scrapes." Howl said, being extra careful. "As long as you stay by us for awhile, nothing should happen," Sophie said.

Hannah smiled at the two. They were helping her, yet they didn't know anything about her... not even her name...

A/N: Hey Bluemoon Fairy. Looks like you and Jr the Red Dragon are the only ones reading this. wink wink Any questions or concerns, just write it in your review (yes, you can write one now), or if it's private, go ahead and email me on my profile... sniff I miss you at lunch... :


	15. Surprise Surprise!

A/N: IT'S COMING TO AN END!! FINALLY!! I have other stories in mind, and this stupid one will be out of my way!!

Ch. 14 Surprise Surprise!

Sophie and Howl kept a close watch on Hannah as she played with Heen and Markl. "Abandon yer ship!" Markl shouted to the sky.

"Bit if you surrender me hearty!" Hannah shouted back.

"Hoooooo!" Heen howled.

Markl and Hannah giggled as Heen continued to "shout" to the sky.

"Lets play house!" Hannah exclaimed, getting all excited.

Markl crinkled his nose in disgust as she assigned the parts, "You can be the dad, I can be the mom, and Heen can be the baby!" Hannah had trouble picking Heen up in her arms, so she decided he would play the perfect role as a dog.

Sophie walked toward them, saying dinner was done.

It had been a lovely meal (the rice with chicken), and everyone was stuffed. Heen rolled up and fell asleep while Markl and Hannah chased the fireflies.

"Look at them, Howl," Sophie said with a sigh,"They're adorable!"

Howl looked at Hannah, trying to figure out what had happened to her, when she had no scars. Hannah could feel his eyes on her, and turned to face him. When he was just about to get to the truth, Sophie walked between them. "It's bed time you two." Markl scurried to the pre-made tent, while Hannah continued to stare at Howl.

XXX

"Sophie?"

"Hmph..."

"Do you think Hannah's hiding something?"

"Howl, go to sleep would you?!"

Howl blew out what was left of the candle, and squirmed himself into the sleeping bag.

XXX

(The Next Day)

Markl and Hannah put on their bathing suits and walked toward the nearby river, surrounded by trees. Howl and Sophie took their time and put on some loose, comfortable clothing to relax in. Markl found a rope dangling form a nearby tree, and decided to jump into the lake. Hannah watched from afar as Markl landed with a perfect ripple left behind. Howl chuckled while Sophie began to dive in. Howl pushed her back as Markl rose to the surface laughing at the pain around his stomach. Pretty soon the current began to get stronger, and slowly pulled the children away from the camp. Hannah and Markl decided to race back, when they saw the faint figure of Howl shedding his clothes. "I see you two are a bunch of wimps!" He yelled.

Sophie glanced up from her book and saw a thin pale man right before her eyes (with a pair of swim trunks on!) "Howl, um, what are you doing?"

"Why I'm swimming of course!"

Markl and Hannah cheered him on as he dove into the waster, appearing seconds later.

"I hope you know I didn't pack any extra clothing for you!!" Sophie shouted.

The day continued, Sophie read her book, occasionally glancing back at the lake, only to find Markl tackling Howl to the bottom.

XXX

Dusk emerged, slowly closing the door to the sun and the day. Sophie could see a faint Howl carrying a tired Markl and Hannah. When he reached the shore, Howl handed her the children to clothe. Howl was left in the breeze, nothing but damp swim trunks on. Watching him, Sophie saw he was shivering, but trying to act all manly. She smiled and grabbed a nearby towel and draped it over his back.

Startled, he turned to find Sophie centimeters away from his lips. She paused, looking into his dazzling blue eyes. The ones that entranced her the very first time they met. She then went back to her work, bundling him up, blushing. When she finished, she looked down at her toes, only for her head to be pulled back up by Howl's finger. Ever so slowly, he placed a gentle, yet caressing kiss on her lips. Sophie wanted to pull away, but had no desire to do so. Instead, she pulled herself even closer, wrapping her arms around his neck.

Howl could feel her getting lighter, and decided to pick her up, causing a tiny squeal to come forth from her mouth. Hannah stirred, and opened her eyes, looking at the young couple giggling. She secretly smiled and went back to sleep.

Sophie, when done giggling, told Howl to get ahold of himself, and bring the children back to their camp.

XXX

Dawn was approaching, but hadn't shown itself yet. Sophie awoke, only remembering bits and pieces of last night. She remembered everyone swimming, warming Howl, and that surprising gift he gave her. One thing escaped her mind. When did they get back to camp, and how did she get her clothes on the other side of the tent?

Wait... her _clothes _were on the other side of the tent?!

Frantically, she searched in her sleeping bag, feeling the textures of her skin and then the fabric that clung above her knees. She sighed with relief, as Howl came into the tent, skillet in hand. "Good morning darling? Would you like some eggs and bacon?"

She accepted, and went out of the tent, expecting to find Hannah, Markl and Heen prancing about.

"They're in their tent," Howl said, knowing exactly what she was looking for.

Sophie went into the next tent and found Hannah yawing and stretching. Markl was being his normal self, butt in the air as usual. The two girls giggled quietly and walked to the small fire on the ground.

XXX

By the time Markl awoke, there was only two eggs and a slice of bacon left. Howl looked up, watching him rubbing his eye and stumbling to the dining area.

"Good morning Sleeping Beauty," Howl said, dying to get that comment out.

Markl replied with a grunt as Hannah gave him the leftover plate.

"I'm sorry you don't get much. I didn't mean to eat all of it. I thought that by the time you woke u-"

"Forget about it," Markl interrupted Hannah as he scarfed down his food.

XXX

Noon was coming sooner than expected, and Howl and Sophie thought nothing would be ready in time. They frantically put things on a picnic table Howl conjured and delicately frosted the cake. Now it was time to bring in the main star. Sophie fetched Hannah who occupied Markl the whole two hours. As Markl went past the hill, the camp was unbelievable, leaving him in his tracks. Birthday things hung all around the campsite and everyone was beaming with joy.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" They all yelled.

"I thought you forgot!" Markl said as he looked at the delicious cake.

"Why would we forget your birthday?" Hannah asked, as the moments of the day replayed in her head.

"Thank you so much everyone!"

"Now who wants some cake?" Sophie asked as she began cutting it.

A/N: Well, that's all I could think about, and I'm so happy it's almost done! I need help with the ending though, so if you want, you can send me a message, or write in your review what you think should happen! Bye!


	16. The Death of Hannah

A/N: I know it's a shocker, but, IT'S DONE! I know that no one will really like this chapter, but it was the only way!

Ch. 16 The Death of Hannah

Sophie had decided to go back to the castle, leaving Markl and Hannah in Howl's care. Calcifer looked at Sophie in dismay, for she left the baboon alone.

"Don't worry. Give Howl some faith from time to time."

Calcifer sneered as he munched on a nearby log. Sophie walked toward a bookshelf on the wall and opened up one of her favorite books.

Howl looks up at the clouds, claiming one looked exactly like a bunny. Hannah agreed with him, but Markl could only find a big white cotton ball.

"Howl, I would like to go back home please," Hannah said as she sat up.

"Alright, Markl, you come with us too."

As Markl got up, Hannah was all the way on the other side of the hill.

Howl grabbed Markl and places him on his shoulders while he runs to catch up. hannah barges in the door, out of breath, and runs to Sophie's side.

"Sophie, can we go to the market?"

Sophie could only look at Hannah strangely, "Why do you need to go to the market? Where's Howl?"

At that moment, Howl and Markl step through the door.

"Sophie and I are going to the market. Bye!"

Hannah grabs the basket near the door and drags Sophie along.

"See you later then!" Sophie called back.

When they reached the edge of town, Sophie yanked her arm free.

"Hannah! What are you doing?!"

Hannah turned to face Sophie as tears rolled down her cheeks.

"I'm sorry Sophie. I can't do this anymore. Your love for Howl is too strong."

Sophie looked at Hannah, unable to understand what she was saying.

"Hannah, it's okay. Stop crying. What were you going to do?"

Hannah sniffed, her snot shooting clear out of her nose.

"This may be hard on you Sophie."

Sophie puts all her weight on her knees as she listens to Hannah.

"Sophie, the Witch of the Waste was right. I'm not who you think I am. I was planning to murder Howl to get revenge for what he did to my mother, but now that I see that he's not what he used to be, it's hard for me to let go."

Sophie just looks at Hannah, tears trickling down her face."Hannah, I-."

Hannah interrupts Sophie as she exclaims,"I am Angel, of the Kingdom of Hell."

At that moment, as two tears fell down her cheek, forming the insignia previously found, Hannah disintegrates, and Angel is unleashed.

Terrified, shocked, and sadness overcoming her, Sophie collapses to the ground, sobbing uncontrollably.

Angel looks at Sophie, more tears forming, and disappears into the ground. Sophie leaves behind her basket and runs to the castle.

When she sees it, just over the hill, it collapses into the nearby lake.

"NOOO!" Sophie screamed. She continued to run, tripping over her own feet. She reached what would be the front door and dug through the rubble. Sophie tied to scream out, but her lungs wouldn't take it. Bombs began to fly through the air, ships sailing overhead. Puddles of tears formed around Sophie's eyes as she sat amidst the rubble.

"They're dead. They're all dead,"she muttered to herself.

"Sophie,"someone behind her called.

Sophie turned around face to face with Angel.

"What do you want?!" Sophie screamed.

"Everyone's safe, I need you to leave here now," Angel said calmly.

"How do I know if I can trust you?" Sophie asked as she stood up in pain.

"Sophie, hold my hand. You will be reunited with your family."

The bombs began to get closer. Sophie griped Angel's hand, feeling a tight feeling in her chest. Sophie closed her eyes, only to reopen them, finding an erie, glowing reflection.

"This is your soul, Sophie. When this disappears, you will never go back."

Sophie tried to ask to go back, but nothing escaped her throat. Ever so slowly, her soul disappeared, and she Sophie began to fall. Her eyes were forced closed and Sophie stay n a deep slumber.

"Sophie."

She opened her eyes and found Howl looking back at her.

"Howl."

She touched his cheek, feeling the flesh of her beloved fiancee.

"I thought... you all... died..."

"Sophie, we are."

Sophie closed her eyes and cried herself to sleep silently.

Up in the real world, the sun set, life coming to a close to Angel, who sacrificed her life to save those she loved.

A/N: OH MY GOSH! I'M FREE! YESS! Now, I will be writing other stories, but they'll be a whole heck of a lot better than this! And I'll make sure that I write the entire story first, so I know when I should update! I'm sorry it took me so long, but my friends and I are trying to make a movie, so it's getting difficult to find time!

Things to explain: Angel permanently died. Sophie, Howl, Markl, Heen, and Calcifer are dead, but Angel prevented them from reaching heaven or hell, so they're in their own separate world, leading their own separate lives.

Thank you for sticking through, and if you thought the ending sucked, why are you in tragedy?

If you have any other questions, just leave a review note thingy or go on my profile and send me a message! Good bye sniff


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